The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will use its enforcement authority to protect historically marginalized communities from oil refineries and other polluting facilities, agency Administrator Michael Regan said.
"When we have concerns about proposals that might cause harm to public health and already overburdened communities, we will not be shy about vocalizing those concerns," Regan said. "This EPA will not hesitate to use our authority to enforce the law and protect people from dangerous pollution where they live, work, pray, play and go to school."
The Biden administration has committed the federal government to addressing environmental injustices and ensuring that affected communities remain a priority among federal agencies. In the Justice 40 Initiative, President Joe Biden promised to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of relevant federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities.
The EPA has already taken steps to address problems in the treatment of communities near energy and industrial facilities, Regan said May 18 at the Michigan Environmental Justice Conference hosted by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. The EPA has defined environmental justice communities as low-income or minority communities that have suffered from disproportionate levels of pollution compared to wealthy or white neighborhoods.
On May 14, the EPA ordered Limetree Bay Terminals LLC and Limetree Bay Refining LLC to pause operations at a refinery on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands after the facility repeatedly polluted the air and sickened the community, according to an agency release. Regan noted that the move was only the fourth time the EPA has executed such authorities under Section 303 of the Clean Air Act.
The federal agency's decision highlighted its commitment to addressing "violations of laws that keep people safe from environmental hazard and harm," the administrator said.
"Without strong civil, criminal and cleanup enforcement, we can't deliver on EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment," Regan said. "Without tough enforcement, we cannot reap the benefits from action on climate change and on environmental justice."
Regan, the first Black man to lead the EPA, directed staff to incorporate environmental justice considerations in all aspects of their work, including regulatory, permitting and enforcement activities. "I'm proud that environmental justice is finally taking its rightful place across the entire federal government — not as an add-on, not as an afterthought, but as an essential, driving factor in every single thing we do," Regan said.
The EPA is also eager to strengthen partnerships with states. The agency set aside funding for technical assistance to states that want to use the EPA's environmental justice screening tool or create their own mapping tools "to help local decisionmakers and the public see where communities may be overburdened by pollution," the administrator said. The EPA has also reinitiated the State Environmental Justice Cooperative Agreement Program, which helps states access financial resources for environmental justice, Regan added.
"We have a lot of ground to make up here at EPA and across the country to uplift communities that have long suffered at the hands of indifference, neglect and inaction," Regan said. "But you know I am proud to say: It's a new day at EPA, and it's a new day in the White House. So, I'm hopeful about where we're headed as a nation."
